Spectrum Bridge Submits Report from Public Trial

The FCC TV white spaces database public trial period has come to an end. The 45 day trial started on September 19th and was successfully completed on November 2nd. Spectrum Bridge formally filed a Summary Report of the TVWS database trial which can be found here on the FCC’s electronic filing system.

We are now one step closer to the official certification of the world’s first TV white spaces database solution. The FCC and OET have done an outstanding job throughout the process of moving the concept into a real-time working solution. The FCC will now open the floor for the comment period, which allows all interested parties to submit any final comments.

As a result of the completion of the 45 day trial, we have respectfully requested that the FCC certify the database solution. We believe that this technology has the potential to revolutionize the wireless industry as it can be implemented in additional spectrum bands to help alleviate the spectrum scarcity issues currently facing the wireless industry. We look forward to seeing your comments about the trial and implementing a live solution to wireless users in the very near future!

-Andrew Pielack, Communications Coordinator

Can Database-Driven Cognitive Radios Solve the Spectrum Crisis?

There is a perceived spectrum scarcity issue facing the wireless industry today. Most allocated spectrum is entirely spoken for, which reinforces the myth that we are running out of spectrum for wireless communications. A simple spectral analysis of commercial spectrum bands indicates that there is up to 90% of unused spectrum at any given time or place. Craig Mathias, author of the white paper Rethinking Spectrum Scarcity – Database-Driven Cognitive Radio, says that “We actually have access to vast quantities of spectrum in any given geographic location, and, given natural signal strength fading due to the inverse power law, we can further multiply efficiency via the reuse of spectrum over distance.”

One solution that Craig proposes towards solving the spectrum crisis is that of a database-driven cognitive radio approach. Cognitive radios are radios that are, “capable of transmitting and receiving across channels covering a potentially very wide range of frequencies.” By utilizing a database-driven networking approach, these radios will be the first step towards efficiently utilizing the unused or idle spectrum at any given point in time.

One example of an area where database-driven cognitive radios can be effective is in the TV White Spaces spectrum. The FCC is proposing that devices operating in these unlicensed frequencies will need to be certified against a TV White Spaces database to ensure that there are no interference issues. Deploying a database-driven cognitive radio in a band like this, which spans from 54MHz to 698MHz, provides a dynamic network approach to allocating spectrum.

TV White Spaces are a prime example of how cognitive radios can communicate with a database, thus enabling the radio to determine the appropriate frequency to operate on without any human interaction. In the future, we can foresee cognitive radios operating across multiple frequencies in different bands, helping to alleviate the perceived spectrum scarcity. For more information on Database-Driven Cognitive Radios, click here.

- Joe Hamilla

Delivering Smart Grid Solutions with TV White Spaces

Partnering with Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative and Telecommunications (PSREC) and Google, Spectrum Bridge deployed the nation's first "Smart Grid" wireless network trial using TV White Spaces. This marks the third successful White Spaces network solution deployed by Spectrum Bridge and continues to demonstrate alternative technology to help alleviate the perceived spectrum scarcity crisis.

In the Plumas County scenario, PSREC was investigating technologies to find a cost-effective solution to meet their challenges of providing rural broadband connectivity for customers over difficult terrain. TV White Spaces were a natural fit for providing an alternative solution because of the excellent propagation characteristics. "Plumas, Lassen and Sierra Counties are located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and present some very difficult challenges with respect to wireless coverage. The ability to use White SPace has proven to be an effective option for dealing with difficult terrain and offers another option for wireless connectivity," stated Lori Rice, PSREC's Chief Operating Officer.

Spectrum Bridge was able to help bring rural broadband connectivity to the PSREC customers using Spectrum Bridge's TV White Space database, which assigns non-interfering frequencies to white space devices. In addition, PSREC improved their System Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) applications, and upgraded their Smart Grid implementation with the addition of Google PowerMeter technology deployed to select residents in Plumas-Sierra County.

With the TV White Spaces technology, companies facing connectivity challenges have another option available for wireless rural broadband access. As we await the FCC's finalized White Spaces rules, we continue to move forward by developing new technology and software to help accomodate the growing demand for spectrum.

- Neeraj Srivastava, VP of Business Development

Spectrum Scarcity: Can Technology Bridge the Gap?

The release of the National Broadband Plan last month has sparked many debates, many of which pertain to the need for more spectrum and how the FCC should go about obtaining additional spectrum to keep up with rising demands. One of the ways in which the FCC has proposed to free up bandwidth is through a "Mobile Future Auction". This proposal would reallocate TV broadcast spectrum for mobile broadband use through a voluntary auction by broadcast companies, giving them the opportunity to monetize their excess spectrum capacity. However, this proposal has generated backlash from broadcasters, and in a speech at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention this week, FCC Chairman Genachowski reassured broadcasters and highlighted on the fact that the FCC does not need "all, most, or even very many licensees to participate" in order to meet the demands for more spectrum. However, in an interview last week, Ivan Seidenberg, CEO of Verizon, said that he believes advances in technology will be able to offset a spectrum shortage. The question then is, do we need broadcasters to give up spectrum, or can technology bridge the gap to supply more spectrum?
Today, anywhere between 80 and 90% of spectrum goes underutilized, a surprising number considering the capacity demands of mobile networks. The need for mobile broadband has increased exponentially over the past few years, as mobile internet begins to exceed desktop internet usage. As we've discussed in previous blogs, spectrum is an extremely finite resource, and increasing demands for spectrum through the use of new applications has put many carriers under pressure to quickly build out their networks to keep up with demand. With the huge influx of smartphones to the mobile marketplace, carriers are struggling to keep up with networks that were underbuilt and overutilized from the start.

At Spectrum Bridge, we believe that technology can help alleviate, and even solve the problem of spectrum scarcity without resorting to having to find a lot more spectrum. Although the reallocation of TV wireless spectrum would certainly help to supply additional bandwidth to wireless networks, it is not necessarily the only solution to the spectrum crisis. Through the use of alternative solutions, such as secondary markets to improve existing spectrum efficiency and innovative technology such as TV white spaces, we believe that it is possible to cost-efficiently address the spectrum scarcity issue without affecting current TV broadcast services. Secondary markets and TV white spaces networks can help to ensure that wireless operators can meet the growing demand for wireless broadband services through the utilization of a hybrid solution of both technology and existing spectrum.

- Joe Hamilla, COO

Joe Hamilla discusses TV White Spaces at the 2010 NAB Show

The National Association of Broadcasters is holding their annual NAB Show next week from April 10-15. NAB's events offer broadcasters the opportunity to network with colleagues, explore new technologies, discuss innovative strategies to build stronger businesses and address important issues. The show will consist of several conferences including Broadcast Engineering, Broadcast Management, Broader-casting and the Digital Cinema and Military & Government Summits.

Joe Hamilla, chief operating officer at Spectrum Bridge, will be presenting at NAB Show’s Broadcast Engineering Conference on Wednesday, April 14. The presentation session, “Spectrum Issues for Broadcasters” will be held from 2:00pm – 5:30pm. Joe will be the first speaker of the panel and will jumpstart the discussion with the topic of “Leveraging White Spaces and an Introduction to the New Networks Being Built with Them.”

Some of the topics to be covered in the presentation include:

• FCC process for TV White Spaces spectrum
• Timeline for TV White Space
• Allocation of TV White Spaces via database
• The Availability of TV White Spaces spectrum
• Trial Networks deployed
• The Spectrum Scarcity and Bandwidth Demand Problem
• Opportunities for TV Band license holders

Spectrum Bridge will also be available following the panel for further discussion. To register as an attendee, please visit the NAB Show website.

Will Two New Spectrum Bills Identify More Spectrum for Americans?

Last week, the House Communications Subcommittee approved two bills that are critical steps in uncovering more of one of our most precious natural resources: radio spectrum. (A companion bill sponsored by Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., is pending.) These bills are more than just good news for the wireless industry; they’re good news for all American consumers, and the country as a whole.

Many Americans may be blithely unaware that the nation is on the verge of a looming spectrum scarcity crisis, perhaps because unlike petroleum, natural gas—or even solar or wind—our radio air waves are a natural resource that you can’t see, smell or feel. As consumers, our first hand personal experience of the spectrum shortage may be limited to when we experience dropped mobile calls, or can’t get an Internet connection. We might blame our carrier for poor service but don’t understand that our airwaves are a finite resource that is experiencing explosive demand. Many don’t realize how much our nation depends on wireless for our critical infrastructure – for utilities delivering smart grid and other power solutions and public safety services providing urgent communications – as well as our national defense. We might not pause to reflect on how wireless technologies help keep America competitive in a global economy. Some of us don’t even realize we are consumers of spectrum; we love our Blackberry’s, iPhones and laptops – and now our netbooks, iPads and whatever is “next”. We’re happy consumers of technology that entertains us and helps us communicate in new and amazing ways.

The good news is that the FCC has been steadily working toward evolving and improving how our spectrum is managed and allocated in recent years, from approving a secondary market for spectrum, to creating a national broadband plan, to freeing up TV white spaces, the broadcast waves left dormant by the Digital TV transition. Last week’s spectrum legislation will help us dig deeper into how efficiently spectrum is being used and where pockets of idle spectrum exist.

More good news for consumers: While companies have been developing all of the cool new gadgets you want next, Spectrum Bridge has been quietly but swiftly developing new technologies for increasing spectrum availability and efficiency. The new gadgets consumers will enjoy in the future will be made possible through spectrum allocation software born in our labs. In fact, many of the wireless gadgets and services you use now are already supported by a host of Spectrum Bridge tools and technologies.

In 2008 we launched the world’s first online spectrum exchange, SpecEx.com. SpecEx.com is helping thousands of organizations access spectrum on the secondary market for their wireless operations right now. We’re finding new life for old spectrum – by repurposing certain types of spectrum for new applications.

We’re helping companies find more spectrum through geo partitioning, disaggregation and other on-demand leasing strategies, and helping them maximize their spectrum assets and find new opportunities with SmartWaves, our innovative spectrum intelligence software, all right now.

We’ve been at the forefront in developing mixed spectrum solutions and in developing a groundbreaking TV white spaces database that is helping people all over the US locate available TV white spaces channels in their areas, right now. In October of 2009, under an experimental license, Spectrum Bridge launched the world’s first TV white spaces network, bringing high speed broadband Internet access to the citizens of Claudville, Virginia. Claudville is online right now. (We’ll be updating everyone with a bigger status report on the network and the tremendous impact it has had on the Claudville community in this blog next week.)

We applaud the House for approving these bills for a thorough inventory of the nation's communications spectrum. As FCC Commissioner Meredith Atwell Baker recently said, we need to “leverage the spectrum that exists more efficiently” and “encourage new technologies and innovation.” These two bills will now move to the full House Energy and Commerce panel for consideration, where we hope they will receive equally quick action. American consumers, businesses, our critical infrastructures, and the future of our national best interests deserve nothing less.

Meanwhile, the team at Spectrum Bridge continues to support wireless spectrum needs now and for what’s next. With the spectrum bills in place and many of Spectrum Bridge's innovative spectrum efficiency tools and technologies already in progress, our ultimate vision for making more spectrum available for wireless applications, Universal Spectrum Access, will usher in a more prosperous wireless nation.

We’re working on it, right now.